Donald Rogers is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 former footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who has often been seen as the most exciting player to pull on a Swindon Town shirt; his principal rival in this respect being Harold Fleming

Harold John Fleming

Harold John Fleming was a footballer for St. Marks F.C. and Swindon Town.-Football career:Fleming was an Inside Forward and began his career at St. Marks before being invited for a trial at Swindon Town by manager, Sam Allen. Fleming scored a brace in a 4-0 win over Salisbury City F.C...

. He played at outside left and served the club in two spells.

Early Life / Football Debut

Born in Paulton, Somerset

Paulton

Paulton is a large village and civil parish, with a population of 4,896, located to the north of the Mendip Hills, in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset , England....

, Rogers signed a youth contract with Swindon in January 1961 at the age of fifteen; having turned professional in October 1962, he made his first-team debut on 17 November in a Third Division

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 match against Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

. Rogers scored the two extra-time goals which won the 1969 Football League Cup Final

1969 Football League Cup Final

The 1969 Football League Cup Final took place on 15 March 1969 at Wembley Stadium. It was the ninth final and the third to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Arsenal and Swindon Town.-Pre-match:...

 for Swindon, 3-1 against Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

.

He signed for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 in 1972 for a fee of £147,000, then joined Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 in September 1974 in an exchange deal involving Terry Venables

Terry Venables

Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...

 and Ian Evans. Rogers played 18 league games for QPR scoring 5 goals before returning to Swindon in March 1976 in exchange for Peter Eastoe

Peter Eastoe

Peter Robert Eastoe is an English former footballer.-Career:Eastoe signed schoolboy forms with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the late 1960s...

.

In November 1976 Rogers moved on loan to the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 team Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

, where he joined his old Swindon team-mate Stan Harland

Stan Harland

Stan Harland was an English football centre half.-Career:Born in Liverpool, Harland's football career began at local club New Brighton. It was from here that he attracted interest from Everton who signed him in 1959...

. He returned to Swindon two months later and, after suffering a hip injury, retired at the end of the 1976–1977 season and now runs a sports shop in Swindon bearing his name.

The Don Rogers Stand

On Saturday 22 March 2008 Swindon Town announced that the south stand would be renamed The Don Rogers Stand from the start of the 2008/09 season.

After Retirement

After retiring he went into the shop business and now owns a shop in Swindon called Don Rogers Sports & Trophies.

Football Management

Don now is a manager of a North Wiltshire Youth League team called Shaw U14s. He also regularly attends Swindon Robins Speedway fixtures at the Abbey Stadium.